Shriners International company describes itself as a fraternity based on fun, fellowship, and the Masonic principles of brotherly love, relief, and truth. There are approximately 350,000 members from 196 temples (chapters) in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, the Republic of Panama, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Europe, and Australia. The organization is best known for the Shriners Hospitals for Children that it administers, and the red fezzes that members wear.

The organization was previously known as "Shriners North America". The name was changed in 2010 across North America, Central America, South America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.[2]

Contents

In 1870, there were several thousand Masons in Manhattan, many of whom lunched at the Knickerbocker Cottage at a special table on the second floor. There, the idea of a new fraternity for Masons stressing fun and fellowship was discussed. Walter M. Fleming, M.D., and William J. Florence took the idea seriously enough to act upon it.

William J. Florence

Florence, a world-renowned actor, while on tour in Marseille, was invited to a party given by an Arabian diplomat. The entertainment was something in the nature of an elaborately staged musical comedy. At its conclusion, the guests became members of a secret society. Florence took copious notes and drawings at his initial viewing and on two other occasions, once in Algiers and once in Cairo. When he returned to New York in 1870, he showed his material to Fleming.[3]

Walter Millard Fleming

Fleming created the ritual, emblem and costumes. Florence and Fleming were initiated August 13, 1870, and initiated 11 other men on June 16, 1871.[4]

The group adopted a Middle Eastern theme and soon established Temples (though the term Temple has now generally been replaced by Shrine Auditorium or Shrine Center). The first Temple established was Mecca Temple (now known as Mecca Shriners), established at the New York City Masonic Hall on September 26, 1872. Fleming was the first Potentate.[5]

In 1875, there were only 43 Shriners in the organization. In an effort to encourage membership, at the June 6, 1876 meeting of Mecca Temple, the Imperial Grand Council of the Ancient Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America was created. Fleming was elected the first Imperial Potentate. After some other reworking, by 1878 there were 425 members in 13 temples in eight states, and by 1888, there were 7,210 members in 48 temples in the United States and Canada. By the Imperial Session held in Washington, D.C. in 1900, there were 55,000 members and 82 Temples.[6]

By 1938 there were about 340,000 members in the United States. That year Life published photographs of its rites for the first time. It described the Shriners as "among secret lodges the No. 1 in prestige, wealth and show", and stated that "[i]n the typical city, especially in the Middle West, the Shriners will include most of the prominent citizens."[7]

Shriners often participate in local parades, sometimes as rather elaborate units: miniature vehicles in themes (all sports cars; all miniature 18-wheeler trucks; all fire engines, and so on), an "Oriental Band" dressed in cartoonish versions of Middle Eastern dress; pipe bands, drummers, motorcycle units, Drum and Bugle Corps, and even traditional brass bands.

Despite its Orientalist theme, the Shrine is a men's fraternity, connected to neither Arab culture nor Islam. Its only religious requirement is indirect: all Shriners must be Masons and petitioners to Freemasonry must profess a belief in a Supreme Being. To further minimize confusion with religion, the use of the words "temple" and "mosque" to describe Shriners' buildings has been replaced by "Shrine Center", although some individual local chapters are still called Temples.

While there are plenty of activities for Shriners and their wives, there are two organizations tied to the Shrine that are for women only: The Ladies' Oriental Shrine and the Daughters of the Nile. They both support the Shriners Hospitals and promote sociability, and membership in either organization is open to any woman 18 years of age and older who is related to a Shriner or Master Mason by birth, marriage, or adoption.

The Shrine's charitable arm is the Shriners Hospitals for Children, a network of twenty-two hospitals in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. In June 1920, the Imperial Council Session voted to establish a "Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children." The purpose of this hospital was to treat orthopedic injuries, diseases, and birth defects in children.[13]

After much research and debate, the committee chosen to determine the site of the hospital decided there should be not just one hospital but a network of hospitals spread across North America. The first hospital was opened in 1922 in Shreveport, Louisiana, and by the end of the decade 13 more hospitals were in operation.[13] Shriners Hospitals now provide orthopedic care, burn treatment, cleft lip and palate care, and spinal cord injury rehabilitation.

The rules for all of the Shriners Hospitals are simple and to the point: Any child under the age of 18 can be admitted to the hospital if, in the opinion of the doctors, the child can be treated.[13][14] There is no requirement for religion, race, or relationship to a Shriner.

Until June 2012, all care at Shriners Hospitals was provided without charge to patients and their families. At that time, because the size of their endowment had decreased due to losses in the stock market, Shriners Hospitals started billing patients' insurance companies, but still offered free care to children without insurance and waives all out of pocket costs insurance does not cover.

In 2008, Shriners Hospitals had a total budget of $826 million. In 2007 they approved 39,454 new patient applications, and attended to the needs of 125,125 patients.[14]

A Cincinnati Shriner in an iconic miniature car participating in a Memorial Day parade

Most Shrine Temples support several parade units. These units are responsible for promoting a positive Shriner image to the public by participating in local parades. The parade units often include miniature cars powered by lawn mower engines.

A St. Louis Shriner in a miniature racing car, stopping to greet children along parade route

An example of a Shrine parade unit is the Heart Shrine Clubs' Original Fire Patrol of Effingham, Illinois. This unit operates miniature fire engines, memorializing a hospital fire that took place in the 1940s in Effingham. They participate in most parades in a 100-mile radius of Effingham. Shriners in Dallas, Texas participate annually in the Twilight Parade at the Texas State Fair.

Shriners in St. Louis have several parade motor units, including miniature cars styled after 1932 Ford coupes and 1970s-era Jeep CJ models, and a unit of miniature Indianapolis-styled race cars. Some of these are outfitted with high-performance, alcohol-fueled engines. The drivers' skills are demonstrated during parades with high-speed spinouts.

The Shriners originally hosted a golf tournament in association with singer/actor Justin Timberlake, titled the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, a PGA TOUR golf tournament held in Las Vegas, Nevada.[15] The relationship between Timberlake and the Shriners ended in 2012, due to the lack of previously agreed participation on Timberlake's part.[16] In July 2012, The PGA TOUR and Shriners Hospitals for Children announced a five-year title sponsorship extension, carrying the commitment to the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open through 2017.[17] now titled The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open,[18] It is still held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Once a year, the fraternity meets for the Imperial Council Session in a major North American city. It is not uncommon for these conventions to have 20,000 participants or more, which generates significant revenue for the local economy.

1.
Freemasonry
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The degrees of freemasonry retain the three grades of medieval craft guilds, those of Apprentice, Journeyman or fellow, and Master Mason. These are the degrees offered by Craft Freemasonry, members of these organisations are known as Freemasons or Masons. There are additional degrees, which vary with locality and jurisdiction, the basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge. The Lodges are usually supervised and governed at the level by a Grand Lodge or Grand Orient. There is no international, worldwide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry, each Grand Lodge is independent, modern Freemasonry broadly consists of two main recognition groups. Continental Freemasonry is now the term for the liberal jurisdictions who have removed some, or all. The Masonic Lodge is the organisational unit of Freemasonry. The Lodge meets regularly to conduct the formal business of any small organisation. In addition to business, the meeting may perform a ceremony to confer a Masonic degree or receive a lecture, at the conclusion of the meeting, the Lodge might adjourn for a formal dinner, or festive board, sometimes involving toasting and song. The bulk of Masonic ritual consists of degree ceremonies, candidates for Freemasonry are progressively initiated into Freemasonry, first in the degree of Entered Apprentice. Some time later, in a ceremony, they will be passed to the degree of Fellowcraft. In all of ceremonies, the candidate is entrusted with passwords, signs. Another ceremony is the installation of the Master and officers of the Lodge. In some jurisdictions Installed Master is valued as a separate rank, in other jurisdictions, the grade is not recognised, and no inner ceremony conveys new secrets during the installation of a new Master of the Lodge. Most Lodges have some sort of calendar, allowing Masons. Often coupled with events is the obligation placed on every Mason to contribute to charity. This occurs at both Lodge and Grand Lodge level, Masonic charities contribute to many fields from education to disaster relief. These private local Lodges form the backbone of Freemasonry, and a Freemason will necessarily have been initiated into one of these, there also exist specialist Lodges where Masons meet to celebrate anything from sport to Masonic research

2.
Masonic lodge
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A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly, but erroneously, used as a term for a building in such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered by a Grand Lodge, a Freemason is generally entitled to visit any Lodge in any jurisdiction in amity with his own. In some jurisdictions this privilege is restricted to Master Masons and he is first usually required to check, and certify, the regularity of the relationship of the Lodge – and be able to satisfy that Lodge of his regularity of membership. Freemasons gather together as a Lodge to work the three basic Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason, technically, Freemasons meet as a lodge not in a lodge. In this context, the lodge refers to a local chapter of Freemasons. However, the term is misused to refer to the buildings or rooms that Masons meet in. Masonic premises are also referred to as temples. In many countries Masonic centre or Masonic hall has now replaced these terms to avoid arousing prejudice, several different lodges, or other Masonic organisations, often use the same premises at different times. Blue lodges, craft lodges or ancient craft lodges refer to the lodges that work the first three Masonic degrees, rather than the appendant Masonic orders such as York Rite and Scottish Rite, the term craft lodge is used in Great Britain. The blue lodge is said to refer to the colour of regalia in lodges derived from English or Irish Freemasonry. Although the term was originally frowned upon, it has gained widespread, research lodges have the purpose of furthering Masonic scholarship. Quatuor Coronati Lodge is an example of a lodge, it has a strictly limited membership. Many jurisdictions have well-established research lodges, which usually meet less frequently than blue lodges, in Great Britain, a lodge of instruction may be associated with a Lodge, but is not constituted separately. In Great Britain, the mother lodge is used to identify the particular Lodge where the individual was first made a Mason. Provincial Grand Lodges exercise an intermediate authority, and also appoint Provincial Grand Officers, in any case, Grand Lodges have limited jurisdiction over their member Lodges, and where there is no prescribed ritual Lodges may thus have considerable freedom of practice. Despite these minor differences, fraternal relations exist between Lodges of corresponding degrees under different Grand Lodges. Generally, to be accepted for initiation as a regular Freemason, believe in some kind of Supreme Being

3.
Prince Hall Freemasonry
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Prince Hall Freemasonry is a branch of North American Freemasonry founded by Prince Hall in the 18th century and composed predominantly of African Americans. Prior to the American Revolutionary War, Prince Hall and fourteen other free black men petitioned for admittance to the white Boston St. John’s Lodge, the Masonic fraternity was attractive to some free blacks like Prince Hall because freemasonry was founded upon ideals of liberty, equality and peace. Having been rejected by colonial Freemasonry, Hall and 14 others sought and were initiated into Masonry through Lodge No.441 of the Grand Lodge of Ireland on March 6,1775, the military lodge was attached to the 38th Foot in 1782. The Lodge was attached to the British forces stationed in Boston, Hall and other freedmen founded African Lodge No.1 and he was named Grand Master. When black men wished to become Masons in the new nation the white members of the Lodge had to vote to accept a petitioner to receive Masonic degrees. If one white person voted against the petitioner that person would be rejected, in a letter by General Albert Pike to his brother in 1875 he said, I am not inclined to mettle in the matter. I took my obligations to white men, not to Negroes, when I have to accept Negroes as brothers or leave Masonry, I shall leave it. Masonic and Grand Lodges generally excluded African Americans, since the votes were anonymous, it was impossible to identify the member who had voted against accepting a black member. The effect was the men who had legitimately been made Masons in integrated jurisdictions could be rejected. Racial segregation existed until the 1960s and still persists in some jurisdictions, the black Masons therefore had limited power. Unable to create a charter, they applied to the Grand Lodge of England, the Grand Master of the Mother Grand Lodge of England, H. R. H. The Duke of Cumberland, issued a charter for the African Lodge No.1 later renamed African Lodge no.459 September 20,1784, the lodge was the countrys first African Masonic lodge. Due to the African Lodges popularity and Prince Halls leadership, the Grand Lodge of England made Hall a Provincial Grand Master on January 27,1791 and his responsibilities included reporting on the condition of lodges in the Boston area. Six years later, on March 22,1797 Prince Hall organized a lodge in Philadelphia, called African Lodge #459 and they later received their own charter. On June 25,1797 he organized African Lodge at Providence, within that movement they asserted emotional, mythical, and genealogical links to the continent of Africa and its peoples. In 1788 John Marrant became the chaplain of the African Masonic Lodge, the lodge met in the “Golden Fleece”, located near Boston Harbor, during the 1780s and 1790s. They later met at Kirby Street Temple in Boston, by 1797 there were at least thirty-four members in the Boston black lodge, but still the lodge was overlooked by mainstream Boston Masons. Integration with the American white Masons was not imminent and that it had received its charter from the English Grand Lodge and was thus entitled to all Masonic rights such as intervisitation between black and white lodges without prejudice

4.
Scottish Rite
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The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, commonly known as simply the Scottish Rite or in the England as the Rose Croix, is one of several Rites of Freemasonry. A Rite is a series of degrees conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies. In the Scottish Rite the central authority is called a Supreme Council, the Scottish Rite is one of the appendant bodies of Freemasonry that a Master Mason may join for further exposure to the principles of Freemasonry. It is also concordant, in some of its degrees relate to the degrees of Symbolic Freemasonry. In England and some countries, while the Scottish Rite is not accorded official recognition by the Grand Lodge. In the United States, however, the Scottish Rite is officially recognized by Grand Lodges as an extension of the degrees of Freemasonry. The Scottish Rite builds upon the teachings and philosophy offered in the craft lodge, or Blue Lodge. The thirty-three degrees of the Scottish Rite are conferred by several controlling bodies, the first of these is the Craft Lodge which confers the Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason degrees. Craft lodges operate under the authority of Grand Lodges, not the Scottish Rite, there are records of lodges conferring the degree of Scots Master or Scotch Master as early as 1733. A lodge at Temple Bar in London is the earliest such lodge on record, other lodges include a lodge at Bath in 1735, and the French lodge, St. George de lObservance No.49 at Covent Garden in 1736. The references to these few occasions indicate that these were special meetings held for the purpose of performing unusual ceremonies, the Copiale cipher, dating from the 1730s, says, The rank of a Scottish master is an entirely new invention. It was stated, without support, that King Charles II was made a Freemason in the Netherlands during the years of his exile, however, there were no documented lodges of Freemasons on the continent during those years. The statement may have made to flatter the fraternity by claiming membership for a previous monarch. This folly was then embellished by John Robison, a professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, the lack of scholarship exhibited by Robison in that work caused the Encyclopædia Britannica to denounce it. A German bookseller and Freemason, living in Paris, working under the name of C. Lenning, embellished the story further in a manuscript titled Encyclopedia of Freemasonry probably written between 1822 and 1828 at Leipzig and this manuscript was later revised and published by another German Freemason named Friedrich Mossdorf. By the mid-19th century, the story had gained currency, the well-known English Masonic writer, Dr. The story was repeated by the French writers Jean-Baptiste Ragon and Emmanuel Rebold

5.
Freemasonry and women
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Freemasonry and women have a complex relationship, which can be readily divided into many phases with no demonstrable relationship to each other until the 20th century. A few women were involved in Freemasonry before the 18th century, after eclipse in the 19th century, they were revived as women-only lodges in the 20th, and these later adopted the male degrees to give rise to French womens Masonry in the 1950s. 18th-century British lodges and their American offshoots remained male only, in the late 1800s, rites similar to adoption emerged in the United States, allowing masons and their female relatives to participate in ritual together. These bodies, however, were careful to discriminate between the mixed ritual and the genuine Freemasonry of the men. In the 1890s, mixed lodges following a standard Masonic ritual started to appear in France, as a general rule, the admission of women is now recognised in Continental jurisdictions. In Anglo-American Freemasonry, neither mixed nor all-female lodges are officially recognised, although unofficial relations can be cordial, Women in Mediaeval and Renaissance Europe were legally assumed to be subject to their fathers, then to their husbands after marriage. The status of women within Mediaeval trades was largely dependent on the interpretation of femme sole. This was usually the widow of a tradesman, who was permitted to continue her husbands business after his death, more rarely, single women would achieve success in their fathers trade. Exceptions occurred mainly in trades linked to traditional occupations, such as haberdashery. In Norwich, a woman called Gunnilda is listed as a mason in the Calendar for Close Rolls for 1256, in England, hints of female participation appear in the Regius Manuscript, and in the Guild records at York Minster in 1408. Women were employed in administrative roles in the London Masons Company, and as such received the benefits of membership. Also, the charge in York Manuscript No 4, dated 1693 and used as a warrant by the later Grand Lodge of All England at York, contains the phrase hee or shee that is to be made mason. While a number of historians have categorised this as a misprint, Adolphus Frederick Alexander Woodford. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the status of women amongst masons in Britain is likely to be similar to that codified in the minutes of the lodge at St. Marys Chapel in Edinburgh, a burgess could pay for the Freedom to employ and instruct masons. The widow of a master mason could accept commissions from his old clients, during the 1740s, lodges of adoption began to appear. Attached to a lodge, wives and female relatives of the masons would be admitted to a parallel system of degrees. The earliest had a nautical theme, in 1747, the Chevalier Beauchaine began the Order of Woodcutters, with rites supposedly based on an early version of the Carbonari. In 1774, the lodges of adoption came under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient de France, further degrees came and went, with a ten-degree system evolving at the end of the Eighteenth century

6.
Anti-Masonic Party
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The Anti-Masonic Party was the first third party in the United States. It strongly opposed Freemasonry as a party, and later aspired to become a major party by expanding its platform to take positions on other issues. Although lasting only a decade, the Anti-Masonic Party introduced important innovations to U. S. politics, such as nominating conventions, the Anti-Masonic Party was formed in upstate New York in February 1828. Anti-Masons were opponents of Freemasonry, believing that it was a corrupt, many people regarded the Masonic organization and its adherents involved in government as corrupt. The opponents of Freemasonry formed a party after the Morgan affair convinced them the Masons were murdering men who spoke out against them. This key episode was the mysterious 1826 disappearance of William Morgan, Morgan claimed to have been made a member of the Masons while living in Canada, and he appears to have briefly attended a lodge in Rochester. In 1825 Morgan received the Royal Arch degree at Le Roys Western Star Chapter #33, whether he actually received these degrees and if so from where has not been determined for certain. Angered by the rejection, Morgan announced that he was going to publish an exposé titled Illustrations of Masonry, critical of the Freemasons and describing their secret degree ceremonies in detail. When his intentions known to the Batavia lodge, an attempt was made to burn down the business of the printer who planned to publish Morgans book. In September 1826 Morgan was arrested on allegations of failing to repay a loan and theft of a shirt. The individual who intended to publish Morgans book paid his bail, the generally believed version of events was that Masons killed Morgan by drowning him in the Niagara River. Whether he fled or was murdered, Morgans disappearance led many to believe that Freemasonry was in conflict with good citizenship, because judges, businessmen, bankers, and politicians were often Masons, ordinary citizens began to think of it as an elitist group. Moreover, many claimed that the lodges secret oaths bound Masons to favor each other against outsiders, in the courts, when a member sought to reveal its secrets, so ran the conclusion, the Freemasons had done away with him. Because they controlled the courts and other offices, they were capable of obstructing the investigation. True Americans, they said, had to organize and defeat this conspiracy, if good government was to be restored all Masons must be purged from public office. Opposition to Masonry was taken up by churches as a religious crusade. Anti-Masonry also became an issue in Western New York, where early in 1827 many mass meetings resolved not to support Masons for public office. In New York at this time the supporters of President John Quincy Adams, called Adams men, or Anti-Jacksonians, in this effort they were aided by the fact that Andrew Jackson was a high-ranking Mason and frequently spoke in praise of the organization

7.
Masonic Temple
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In Freemasonry, a Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is the room or structure where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to a spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. This was less than ideal, however, meeting in public spaces required the transportation, set-up, Lodges began to look for permanent facilities, dedicated purely to Masonic use. The first Masonic Hall was built in 1765, in Marseille, a decade later in May,1775, the cornerstone of what would come to be known as Freemasons Hall, London, was laid in solemn ceremonial form spurring a trend that would continue to present day. Most lodges, however, could not afford to build their own facilities, with permanent facilities, the term Masonic Temple began to be applied not just to the symbolic formation of the Temple, but also to the physical place in which this took place. It began to be applied to the rooms themselves. In the latter half of the century, as the popularity of Freemasonry grew. In many locations this was spurred by changing tax laws that allowed fraternal and benevolent societies to own property, the rents from the commercial space going to the upkeep of the lodge rooms. This was especially true in cities where the Grand Lodge met and these buildings, too, began to be referred to as Masonic Temples, Masonic Halls, or Masonic Lodges. In smaller towns the trend was different, thus they looked to purchase old churches, schools and the homes of community founders, which they would convert into lodge meeting space. These too began to be known as Masonic Temples, the 1920s marked a heyday for Freemasonry, especially in the United States. By 1930, over 12% of the male population of the United States were members of the fraternity. The dues generated by such numbers allowed state Grand Lodges to build on truly monumental scales, typical of the era are the Dayton Masonic Center and Detroit Masonic Temple. However, the times were not to last. The Great Depression hit Freemasonry as hard as it hit the rest of the world, world War II saw resources were focused on supporting the War effort. While there was something of a resurgence in the 1950s, the anti-establishment attitudes of the 1960s and 1970s affected membership numbers even further, Lodges began to close and merge, with those that could no longer afford to maintain their buildings selling these to developers. Many Masonic Temples and Halls were converted to non-masonic uses including completely commercial spaces, hotels, night clubs, many lodges have returned to renting rooms, and there is even a small movement calling for Freemasonry to return to its roots and open their Masonic Temples in taverns. When Freemasons first began building dedicated structures the more frequently used term for a Masonic Temple was Masonic Hall and this began to change in the mid 19th Century when the larger Masonic Halls most often found in major cities began to be named with the term Masonic Temple

8.
Albert Pike
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Albert Pike was an attorney, soldier, writer, and Freemason. Albert Pike is the only Confederate military officer with a statue in Washington. Pike was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Ben and Sarah Pike and his colonial ancestors settled the area in 1635, and included John Pike, the founder of Woodbridge, New Jersey. He attended school in Newburyport and Framingham until he was 15, in August 1825, he passed entrance exams at Harvard University, though when the college requested payment of tuition fees for the first two years he chose not to attend. He began a program of self-education, later becoming a schoolteacher in Gloucester, North Bedford, Fairhaven, Pike was an imposing figure, six feet tall and 300 pounds with hair that reached his shoulders and a long beard. In 1831, he left Massachusetts to travel west, first stopping in Nashville, Tennessee and later moving on to St. Louis, there he joined an expedition to Taos, New Mexico, hunting and trading. During the excursion his horse broke and ran, forcing Pike to walk the remaining 500 miles to Taos, after this he joined a trapping expedition to the Llano Estacado in New Mexico and Texas. Trapping was minimal and, after traveling about 1,300 miles, he arrived at Fort Smith. Settling in Arkansas in 1833, Pike taught in a school, the articles were popular enough that he was asked to join the newspapers staff. After marrying Mary Ann Hamilton in 1834, he purchased the newspaper, under Pikes administration the Advocate promoted the viewpoint of the Whig Party in a politically volatile and divided Arkansas December 1832. He was the first reporter for the Arkansas Supreme Court and also wrote a book, titled The Arkansas Form Book, Pike then began to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1837, selling the Advocate the same year. He also made several contacts among the Native American tribes in the area and he specialized in claims on behalf of Native Americans against the federal government. In 1852 he represented Creek Nation before the Supreme Court in a claim regarding ceded tribal land, in 1854 he advocated for the Choctaw and Chickasaw although compensation later awarded to the tribes in 1856 and 1857 was insufficient. These relationships were to influence the course of his Civil War service, additionally, Pike wrote on several legal subjects and continued producing poetry, a hobby he had begun in his youth in Massachusetts. His poems were regarded in his day, but are now mostly forgotten. Several volumes of his works were published posthumously by his daughter. In 1859, he received an honorary Master of Arts degree from Harvard, when the Mexican–American War started, Pike joined the Regiment of Arkansas Mounted Volunteers and was commissioned as a troop commander with the rank of captain in June 1846. With his regiment, he fought in the Battle of Buena Vista, Pike was discharged in June 1847

9.
John the Evangelist
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John the Evangelist is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, the Gospel of John refers to an otherwise unnamed disciple whom Jesus loved, who bore witness to and wrote the Gospels message. Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was John the Apostle, the Apostle John was a historical figure, one of the pillars of the Jerusalem church after Jesus death. He was one of the twelve apostles and is thought to be the only one to have lived into old age. John is associated with the city of Ephesus, where he is said to have lived, some believe that he was exiled to the Aegean island of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. However, this is a matter of debate, with some attributing the authorship of Revelation to another man, the authorship of the Johannine works has been debated by scholars since at least the 2nd century AD. The main debate centers on who authored the writings, and which of the writings, if any, orthodox tradition attributes all the books to John the Apostle. In the 6th century, the Decretum Gelasianum argued that Second and Third John have an author known as John. Historical criticism rejects the view that John the Apostle authored any of these works, many modern scholars conclude that the apostle John wrote none of these works, although others, notably J. A. T. Robinson, F. F. Bruce, Leon Morris, and Martin Hengel hold the apostle to be behind at least some, there may have been a single author for the gospel and the three epistles. Some scholars conclude the author of the epistles was different from that of the gospel, the gospel and epistles traditionally and plausibly came from Ephesus, c. 90-110, although some argue for an origin in Syria. In the case of Revelation, many scholars agree that it was written by a separate author, John of Patmos. In the Tridentine Calendar he was commemorated also on each of the days up to and including 3 January. This Octave was abolished by Pope Pius XII in 1955, the traditional liturgical color is white. John the Evangelist is usually depicted as a young man, in Christian art, John is symbolically represented by an eagle, one of the creatures envisioned by Ezekiel and in the Revelation to John. The use of the chalice as a symbol for John is sometimes interpreted with reference to the Last Supper, another explanation is to be found in the words of Christ to John and James, My chalice indeed you shall drink. According to some authorities, this symbol was not adopted until the 13th century, the painting Saint John the Evangelist by Domenico Zampieri was auctioned in London in December 2009, for an estimated US$16.5 million

10.
John the Baptist
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John the Baptist, also known as John the Baptizer, was a Jewish itinerant preacher in the early first century AD. John is revered as a religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Baháí Faith. He is called a prophet by all of these traditions, and is honoured as a saint in many Christian traditions, John used baptism as the central symbol or sacrament of his messianic movement. Most scholars agree that John baptized Jesus, scholars generally believe Jesus was a follower or disciple of John and several New Testament accounts report that some of Jesus early followers had previously been followers of John. John the Baptist is also mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus, according to the New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, John is also identified with the prophet Elijah. John the Baptist is mentioned in all four canonical Gospels and the non-canonical Gospel of the Nazarenes, the Synoptic Gospels describe John baptising Jesus, in the Gospel of John it is implied in John 1, 32-34. The Gospel of Mark introduces John as a fulfilment of a prophecy from the Book of Isaiah about a messenger being sent ahead, John is described as wearing clothes of camels hair, living on locusts and wild honey. John proclaims baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin, and says another will come after him who will not baptize with water, Jesus comes to John, and is baptized by him in the river Jordan. The account describes how, as he emerges from the water, the heavens open, a voice from heaven then says, You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased. Later in the gospel there is an account of Johns death and it is introduced by an incident where the Tetrarch Herod Antipas, hearing stories about Jesus, imagines that this is John the Baptist raised from the dead. It then explains that John had rebuked Herod for marrying Herodias, Herodias demands his execution, but Herod, who liked to listen to John, is reluctant to do so because he fears him, knowing he is a righteous and holy man. The account then describes how Herods daughter Herodias dances before Herod, when the girl asks her mother what she should request, she is told to demand the head of John the Baptist. Reluctantly, Herod orders the beheading of John, and his head is delivered to her, at her request, Johns disciples take the body away and bury it in a tomb. There are a number of difficulties with this passage, the Gospel wrongly identifies Antipas as King and the ex-husband of Herodias is named as Philip, but he is known to have been called Herod. Although the wording clearly implies the girl was the daughter of Herodias, many texts describe her as Herods daughter, Herodias. Since these texts are early and significant and the reading is difficult, many see this as the original version, corrected in later versions and in Matthew. Josephus says that Herodias had a daughter by the name of Salome, scholars have speculated about the origins of the story

11.
House of the Temple
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The House of the Temple is a Masonic temple in Washington, D. C. United States that serves as the headquarters of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, designed by John Russell Pope, it stands at 1733 16th Street, N. W. in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, about one mile directly north of the White House. On May 31,1911,110 years after the founding of the Supreme Council, Grand Commander James D. Richardson broke ground on the spot where the House of the Temple now stands in Washington, D. C. Grand Master J. Claude Keiper, of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, the temple was designed by noted architect John Russell Pope, who modeled it after the tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The building was dedicated four years later on October 18,1915, the buildings design was widely praised by contemporary architects, and it won Pope the Gold Medal of the Architectural League of New York in 1917. In his 1920 book LArchitecture aux Etatis-Unis, French architect Jacques Gréber described it as a monument of remarkable sumptuousness, the ensemble is an admirable study of antique architecture stamped with a powerful dignity. Fiske Kimballs 1928 book American Architecture describes it as an example of the triumph of form in America. In the 1920s, a panel of architects named it one of the three best public buildings in the United States, along with the Nebraska State Capitol and the Pan American Union Building in Washington, D. C. In 1932, it was ranked as one of the ten top buildings in the country in a poll of federal government architects. In 1944, the remains of Albert Pike were removed from Oak Hill Cemetery in the Georgetown section of Washington, D. C. the remains of Past Grand Commander John Henry Cowles were entombed in the temple in 1952, after his 31-year reign as Grand Commander. The Temple also holds one of the largest collections of related to Scottish poet and Freemason Robert Burns in its library. The House of the Temple is designated as a property to the Sixteenth Street Historic District. From 1990 to 2011, the temple hosted a community garden on its grounds, the Temple Garden occupied about 0. 25-acre, divided into about 70 small plots worked by nearby residents. In fall 2011, the Temple closed the garden in order to use the space to stage equipment for a rehabilitation project. In the 1951 science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still, in the 2009 novel The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, the building is the setting for several key scenes. List of Masonic buildings List of museums in Washington, D. C

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Order of the Eastern Star
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The Order of the Eastern Star is a Masonic appendant body open to both men and women. It was established in 1850 by lawyer and educator Rob Morris, a noted Freemason, the order is based on teachings from the Bible, but is open to people of all religious beliefs. It has approximately 10,000 chapters in twenty countries and approximately 500,000 members under its General Grand Chapter, members of the Order are aged 18 and older, men must be Master Masons and women must have specific relationships with Masons. The Order was created by Rob Morris in 1850 when he was teaching at the Eureka Masonic College in Richland, while confined by illness, he set down the principles of the order in his Rosary of the Eastern Star. By 1855, he had organized a Supreme Constellation in New York, in 1866, Dr. Morris started working with Robert Macoy, and handed the Order over to him while Morris was traveling in the Holy Land. Macoy organized the current system of Chapters, and modified Dr. Morris Rosary into a Ritual. On December 1,1874, Queen Esther Chapter No.1 became the first Prince Hall Affiliate chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star when it was established in Washington, the General Grand Chapter was formed in Indianapolis, Indiana on November 6,1876. Committees formed at that time created the Ritual of the Order of the Eastern Star in more or less its current form, the emblem of the Order is a five-pointed star with the white ray of the star pointing downwards towards the manger. In the Chapter room, the white ray points to the West. Associate Conductress – Prepares candidates for initiation, assists the conductress with introductions, sentinel – Sits next to the door outside the chapter room, to make sure those that wish to enter are members of the Order. Traditionally, a woman who is elected Associate Conductress will be elected to Conductress the following year, then the next year Associate Matron, a man elected Associate Patron will usually be elected Worthy Patron the following year. There is no counterpart to the Conductress and Associate Conductress. Only women are allowed to be Matrons, Conductresses, and the Star Points, once a member has served a term as Worthy Matron or Worthy Patron, they may use the post-nominal letters, PM or PP respectively. The General Grand Chapter headquarters, the International Temple, is located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, the mansion was built in 1909 for the purpose of entertaining the guests of Perry Belmont. This included Britains Prince of Wales in 1919, General Grand Chapter purchased the building in 1935. The secretary of General Grand Chapter lives there while serving his or her term of office, the mansion features works of art from around the world, most of which were given as gifts from various international Eastern Star chapters. The Order has a foundation and from 1986-2001 contributed $513,147 to Alzheimers disease research, juvenile diabetes research. It also provides bursaries to students of theology and religious music, in 2000 over $83,000 was donated